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Western Isles
The Western Isles are huge archipelago or group of island chains lying off the west coast of Orithea, hence their name. They include thousands of islands of every size; from countless tiny reefs and islets up to enormous Azhir, the largest of them all at nearly fifteen hundred miles long. Overall the archipelago spreads nearly four thousand miles from north to south and extends roughly half that distance west from Orithea’s coastline out into the Encircling Ocean. Unsurprisingly, many of the inhabitants of the Western Isles are skilled sailors, and a great deal of maritime commerce flows between the islands and the mainland. Valuable goods such as spices, incense, silver, silk, ironwood, teakwood, and gemstones come from various islands. With all these precious trade goods being shipped around the region, it is not surprising that the Western Isles are also notorious for their pirates and corsairs. A majority of the Western Isle’s inhabitants are human, with colonists sailing from mainland Orithea known to have first reached Azhir at least three thousand years before the present day and possibly as early as just after the Schism Wars. The people of the Western Isles are predominantly of the XXXXXXX race, though mixed with Kelim, XXXXXXX, and XXXXXX blood to various degrees in different parts of the archipelago. Most of the human-populated parts of the Western Isles are divided up among a number of small principalities whose rulers most often use the title of emir; thus they are collectively called the Emirs of the Western Isles. The allegiances of these emirates are often in flux; when major regional powers such as the Azhiri Sultanate or Kelimarian Sultanate grow strong enough to extend their influence across the isles, some or all of the emirates are typically forced into subordinate status: Vassalized, forced to pay tribute, or even subjected to outright conquest. On the other hand, when such larger powers are weak or distracted with internal disorders, the emirs of the islands are left to their own devices. Warfare between them, or at least raiding and sanctioned piracy, often results; complex alliances and multi-sided rivalries are not uncommon. The islands are also scattered with the havens of the sea-elves, who sail throughout the region and have fairly open dealings (by elvish standards) with the human islanders. For an Orithean, the best chance at meeting members of the fabled Elder Race is probably to take ship for the Western Isles and sail to one of the major port towns where humans and sea-elves mingle with relative freedom. The Western Isles are also plagued by that rare breed, seafaring orcs. Orcish corsairs have always been present in the archipelago, especially in the southern reaches; they sail up from Ulthark-Irsha and Gulf of Thrakka, and like other pirates, have little trouble finding isolated coves or small uncharted islands to serve as their hideouts. However, the fall of Vastemar to Gol Garga and the conquest of that whole land’s long western coast has greatly amplified the threat. The last several years have seen considerable depredations by these orcish seafarers upon trade and coastal towns throughout the islands. The problem has been made worse by the concurrent disorders in Kelimaria in the aftermath of Gol Garga’s invasions (the Kelimarian Sultanate, when strong, has historically been the dominant imperial power in the southern archipelago and its fleet has played a considerable role in fighting piracy). These disorders have allowed the Sultanate of Azhir to begin reasserting itself, but it certainly lacks the naval power to crush the emboldened orcish corsairs on its own.